An Jiu raised her bow, drawing the empty string.
With a resonant hum, a transparent arrow streaked across the snowy sky, gradually coalescing into a stream of black energy as it neared Wei Yuzhi.
Yet, the arrow seemed to encounter immense resistance a zhang away from Wei Yuzhi, slowing abruptly before vanishing entirely as it pushed forward.
Wei Yuzhi took half a step back, his face growing even paler.
This was the power of Mental Strength—capable of manipulating external objects! To think it could reach such a level!
An Jiu drew her bow again, firing four rapid arrows in succession with ordinary shafts.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! One after another, they closed in.
The first arrow halted before Wei Yuzhi, only for the second to split it cleanly down the middle. The sequence continued until the fourth arrow stopped right before his eyes.
Rumors in the martial world claimed that the second-in-command of Misty Villa knew no Martial Arts, yet he often traveled alone without incident—simply because no one dared to harm anyone from Misty Villa. The tale sounded plausible, but upon closer thought, it didn’t quite add up. There were always one or two reckless souls in this world who feared neither death nor danger. The likelier reason Wei Yuzhi had lived safely until now was that he possessed ample means to protect himself.
His Mental Strength wasn’t just for defense—it could kill!
The fourth arrow shattered violently. Wei Yuzhi staggered back, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Sir!" Mei Ru Yan rushed forward to steady him.
Wei Yuzhi straightened. "Mei Shisi, such a greeting leaves a deep impression."
Mei Ru Yan froze, then whirled around just in time to see a black figure leap down from the rafters. The figure exuded a chilling aura, sharp as an unsheathed blade, predatory as a wolf ready to tear its prey apart. There wasn’t a trace of Mei Jiu’s presence left.
"A Jiu?" She turned back to Wei Yuzhi in disbelief. "This is my sister?"
Mei Ru Yan’s features had matured—an oval face, phoenix eyes, slender brows, with a faint sorrow and sharpness lingering between them. Though not strikingly beautiful, she carried a unique charm.
"Sisters reunited, yet unrecognizable." Wei Yuzhi dabbed his lips with a handkerchief. "Rest assured, this need not be a dead end. If she agrees to marry me, she’ll be safe."
An Jiu found it odd. This man had brought up marriage since their first meeting. "Why me?"
"I study the principles of change, hence my skill in formations—and also in divination, commonly known as fortune-telling." Wei Yuzhi spoke lightly. "You and I are fated."
Nonsense! An Jiu scoffed inwardly.
"If fate it is, then a cursed one." She coldly raised the Dragon Subduing Bow. "And you’re wrong about one thing—whether this is a dead end isn’t for you to decide!"
Before her words faded, three arrows tore through the snow curtain in rapid succession.
A single person could unleash a Rain of Arrows! The sheer frenzy mirrored her earlier desperation when trapped in the armory. She wouldn’t stop until Wei Yuzhi was torn apart!
At the critical moment, the arrows hesitated half a zhang away. Mei Ru Yan seized the chance to pull Wei Yuzhi aside.
Deprived of resistance, the arrows embedded themselves in a distant wooden door.
An Jiu frowned. "Mei Ru Yan. You side with the ones who slaughtered our family?"
An Jiu remembered how deeply Mei Ru Yan had loved Mister Mo. If she were pretending to get close to Wei Yuzhi, this wasn’t how she should be acting! That left only two possibilities: either Mei Ru Yan didn’t know Misty Villa was behind the massacre of Mei Shi, or she knew and still chose to walk with wolves.Mei Ruyan trembled slightly. Only then did she believe that the person before her was indeed Mei Jiu. She murmured, "It can't be."
She lifted Wei Yuzhi and leaped onto the porch, her expression now calm. With a helpless sigh, she said, "Sir, though you are peerlessly intelligent, you understand women so little. Even if you and my sister were fated, forcing her like this would surely have angered her. How could there be any talk of marriage?"
Wei Yuzhi silently watched An Jiu, who was radiating killing intent in the courtyard, and felt there was some truth to Mei Ruyan's words. "What should I do then?"
With Wei Yuzhi's intellect, even if the sky were to collapse, some would believe him capable of holding it up.
Yet, in his entire life, this was the first time he had uttered the words, "What should I do?"
Seeing An Jiu draw her bow again, Mei Ruyan swiftly retreated several zhang with Wei Yuzhi, landing in a distant alley. "Sir, let my sister reunite with the others. Though this won’t erase her resentment, at least it won’t deepen the enmity."
The enmity between them had long been set.
"In Bianjing, I once let myself be captured by her deliberately. Though part of it was to infiltrate the Crane Control Institute, my true intention was to get closer to her... closer..." Wei Yuzhi coughed weakly. "Now that she knows my abilities, might she think I was just using her?"
Well... you were using her, Mei Ruyan thought silently as she gazed at him.
Wei Yuzhi closed his eyes. "I'm tired."
Finding a wife was far too exhausting! In the past, he had missed his chance by being too subtle. Now, was he missing it again despite his efforts to get closer?
"I’ll take you back to rest." Mei Ruyan faintly knew that this place was merely the main branch of Misty Villa where missions were assigned, not its true core. Even if destroyed, it wouldn’t harm the foundation of Misty Villa.
She helped him into a carriage, and they left the town.
Not long after their departure, a rider hurriedly caught up. "Second Manor Lord!"
The carriage halted, and Mei Ruyan leaned out. "What is it?"
"Young Lady Ruyan!" The man clasped his fists in salute. "Isn’t the Second Manor Lord with you?"
"The sir is exhausted and needs rest. You may tell me your message, and I’ll relay it to him when he wakes," Mei Ruyan replied.
The man hesitated but insisted, "Please wake the sir. This matter is urgent and requires his personal decision."
Normally, subordinates feared Wei Yuzhi too much to disturb him like this. Mei Ruyan understood this must be classified information beyond her clearance. She gently nudged Wei Yuzhi. "Sir, sir."
Wei Yuzhi slowly opened his eyes and raised a hand. A strange fragrance filled the carriage, and Mei Ruyan blacked out, losing consciousness.
"Speak," Wei Yuzhi leaned against the carriage wall, exhaustion lining his brow.
"Second Manor Lord! The Old Manor Lord has disappeared!" the man urgently reported.
Wei Yuzhi showed no surprise, replying indifferently, "Ignore it. Order the immediate activation of the grand formation. Engaging a Transformation Realm Master in close combat is the worst strategy."
"Yes!" The man departed to relay the order.
Wei Yuzhi clearly remembered the immense effort it had taken to subdue Wei Yunshan back then. While Wei Yuzhi had indeed absorbed none of his Inner Force, Wei Yunshan’s current plight was entirely the result of his meticulous scheming—yet Wei Yunshan remained unaware.
The most perfect scheme in this world isn’t one that destroys a person, but one where you manipulate them relentlessly, leaving them suspicious of everyone—except you.Wei Yuzhi lowered his gaze, his wide sleeve brushing past Mei Ru Yan's face.
Mei Ru Yan caught a faint, refreshing scent and gradually regained consciousness.
In the small town, the slaughter continued.
The air was thick with the stench of blood. Over forty assassins from Misty Villa had already fallen, most of them at Chu Dingjiang’s hands. Though they had supposedly been working as a team, it was more accurate to say Chu Dingjiang had been slaughtering them single-handedly.
By the time An Jiu found them, only nine remained—including Chu Dingjiang.
At a glance, she could tell this was because Chu Dingjiang had deliberately protected them.
Among the survivors, the majority were from the team Chu Dingjiang had once led. Even two of Gu Jinghong’s former teammates—both on the verge of reaching the ninth rank—had perished. Only Lou Mingyue, Sui Yunzhu, Li Qingzhi, and An Jiu remained. In contrast, lower-ranked martial arts masters like Sun Dixian had survived. On a battlefield where strength dictated survival, such an outcome was impossible without external intervention.
"Lou Mingyue!" An Jiu took off the explosive crossbows and handed them to Lou Mingyue and Sui Yunzhu. "Only two left."
Under Chu Dingjiang’s biased protection, as their former high-ranking teammates fell one by one, Lou Mingyue, Sui Yunzhu, and Li Qingzhi had gradually felt sidelined. Now, with An Jiu entrusting them with the crossbows, the three regained a sense of belonging to the team. Li Qingzhi, initially displeased at not receiving one, stopped dwelling on it when he saw An Jiu didn’t have one either. With a roar, he swung his blade with fierce momentum.
Sun Dixian, however, was resentful. While she could grudgingly accept Sui Yunzhu wielding an explosive crossbow, Lou Mingyue—a martial artist on the cusp of the ninth rank—had no shame clinging to one!
The mournful sound of the xun flute rose once more.
The ground beneath them trembled faintly, as if the entire earth might split open at any moment.
A mist appeared from nowhere, and within moments, visibility dropped to less than ten feet. The assassins of Misty Villa scattered into the haze. Soon, the alley was empty save for corpses—and the ten of them.
The fog thickened relentlessly, so dense that even in the dark night, they could barely see each other face to face.
"This mist is strange," Sui Yunzhu muttered, realizing he could no longer sense the others around him.
Even Chu Dingjiang’s mental strength was somewhat restricted.
"Which way do we go?" Li Qingzhi asked.
(To be continued...)
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